Cornelis van de Linde. Bouwer voor de Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (NHM)

After his education as an architect Cornelis van de Linde, a farmer's son from the province of Zeeland (* 1886), became office manager in the employment of K.RC. De Bazel. The latter was highly respected as some kind of spiritual representative of his colleagues. He was a leader to Van de Linde as well, although he remained level-headed (typical for a native of Zeeland) with respect to De Bazel's theosophical meditations. De Bazel had the supervision of the design of the principal building of the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (NHM) in Amsterdam, but Van de Linde played an important part in its construction. After the death of De Bazel in 1923 he completed the building to the full satisfaction of the client. Subsequently, in 1928 he and his partner A.P. Smits were commissioned for the design of the principal building (trading station) of the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij in Batavia, then Dutch East Indies. A first design still had De Bazel characteristics. but the final design was explicitly aimed at functional requirements and at the building conditions on site. The new building had a monumental layout. with one principal wing and two side wings around a large courtyard. The construction took more than three years and was supervised by Van de Linde. For this purpose mid 1929 he moved to Batavia, the present Jakarta, with his family. During this period he also built a new establishment for NHM in Medan, which was completed in 1932. Construction and detail drawings were for the greater part made in Amsterdam. In these years the edge of the old city centre of Batavia was revitalized with large urban developments, such as a new railway station. The new trading station was situated quite prominently opposite this railway station. Although a bank should have a representative appearance, it was especially the construction. availability of materials and climatic conditions that determined the design. Keeping out the sunlight and the tropical heat took high priority. For this purpose a well-shaded gallery surrounded the building. Ventilation was applied in hollow floors. The construction of reinforced concrete was covered with plastered brick. Clients have access to the large hall by way of the main entrance and the staircase. The stairwell is dominated by stained-glass windows of F.H. Abbing extending over two floors. When comparing the trading station in Batavia and the NHM building in Amsterdam, the functional clarity of the former and the monumental weight of the latter are striking. In Batavia an open horizontal-looking building, in Amsterdam a vertical and closed one. In Batavia daylight came from two sides, in Amsterdam a large amount of daylight came in through a lightwell. Similarities between the two buildings, on the other hand. are to be found in the finishing of the interior. such as the use of Venetian tiles, marble for the counters and quite Spartan looking furniture for the personnel

Mindfulness and Leadership: A Critical Reflection

This paper critically highlights the history and the current use of the concept of mindfulness, from its Buddhist roots via medical application and organizational consulting into its application as a management tool. The paper puts the concept of mindfulness in its historical context, mentions some of the controversies the ‘brand of mindfulness’ has stirred and prefers the term ‘being mindful’ over ‘mindfulness’. However, as Stolarov (1992) argued: the mind in isolation is a myth. The mind itself is social and relational in such a way that the intrapsychic inner world is directly related to the relational context in which it is embedded. In consulting and management, being mindful is, beyond an individual process of growth and development, also relational, recognizing that there are two or more entities working in a mutual and reciprocal process. Once we apply ‘being mindful’ on professionals in organizations it is clear that this can improve the wellbeing of leaders, managers and staff and the overall effectiveness of an organization. In the organizational literature the concept of ‘deep thinking’ is explored in marketing and sales. The paper promotes, explores and elaborates the concept of being mindful, including deep thinking, as essential for practical and spiritual aspects of organizational and corporate life, in particular for the transformational tasks of leaders and managers. Eight characteristics of mindful leadership are elaborated. Finally the potential parallel process of the rise of mindfulness and transactional analysis, stands out as a warning

Can shared care deliver better outcomes for patients undergoing total hip replacement? A prospective assessment of patient outcomes and associated service use

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether shared care for patients undergoing total hip replacement delivers better outcomes compared to care as usual. DESIGN: Prospective, observational cohort study. SETTING: Two regions in The Netherlands where different organisational health care models have been implemented: a shared care setting (experimental group) and a care as usual setting (control group). PATIENTS: One hundred and fifteen patients undergoing total hip replacement: 56 in the experimental group and 59 in the control group. MAIN MEASURES: Functional health status according to the sickness impact profile, hip function, patient satisfaction and use of health care services. RESULTS: Two weeks before hip replacement both groups were comparable concerning patient characteristics, hip function and health status. The mean improvement of the total sickness impact profile score between two weeks before hip replacement and six months after was -1.92 in the shared care group, compared to -5.11 in care as usual group, a difference in favour of the control group (p=0.02). The mean length of hospital stay was comparable in both settings: 12.8 days in the shared care group and 13.2 days in the care as usual group. After hip replacement, compared to care as usual, patients in the shared care group received more homecare, with a higher frequency, and for a longer period of time. No differences in patient satisfaction between the two groups were found. CONCLUSIONS: Six months after hip replacement, the health status of patients in the care as usual group, using significantly less home care, was better than the status of patients in the shared care group. DISCUSSION: The utilisation of home care after hip replacement should be critically appraised in view of the need to stimulate patients' independence

A Novel RNAi Lethality Rescue Screen to Identify Regulators of Adipogenesis

Adipogenesis, the differentiation of fibroblast-like mesenchymal stem cells into mature adipocytes, is tightly regulated by a complex cascade of transcription factors, including the nuclear receptor Peroxisome proliferator activator receptor γ (PPARγ). RNAi-mediated knock down libraries may present an atractive method for the identification of additional adipogenic factors. However, using in vitro adipogenesis model systems for high-throughput screening with siRNA libraries is limited since (i) differentiation is not homogeneous, but results in mixed cell populations, and (ii) the expression levels (and activity) of adipogenic regulators is highly dynamic during differentiation, indicating that the timing of RNAi-mediated knock down during differentiation may be extremely critical. Here we report a proof-of-principle for a novel RNAi screening method to identify regulators of adipogenesis that is based on lethality rescue rather than differentiation, using microRNA expression driven by a PPARγ responsive RNA polymerase II promoter. We validated this novel method through screening of a dedicated deubiquitinase knock down library, resulting in the identification of UCHL3 as an essential deubiquitinase in adipogenesis. This system therefore enables the identification of novel genes regulating PPARγ-mediated adipogenesis in a high-throughput setting

Insights into the evolution of longevity from the bowhead whale genome

The bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) is estimated to live over 200 years and is possibly the longest-living mammal. These animals should possess protective molecular adaptations relevant to age-related diseases, particularly cancer. Here, we report the sequencing and comparative analysis of the bowhead whale genome and two transcriptomes from different populations. Our analysis identifies genes under positive selection and bowhead-specific mutations in genes linked to cancer and aging. In addition, we identify gene gain and loss involving genes associated with DNA repair, cell-cycle regulation, cancer, and aging. Our results expand our understanding of the evolution of mammalian longevity and suggest possible players involved in adaptive genetic changes conferring cancer resistance. We also found potentially relevant changes in genes related to additional processes, including thermoregulation, sensory perception, dietary adaptations, and immune response. Our data are made available online (http://www.bowhead-whale.org) to facilitate research in this long-lived species

GPR50 Interacts with TIP60 to Modulate Glucocorticoid Receptor Signalling

GPR50 is an orphan G-protein coupled receptor most closely related to the melatonin receptors. The physiological function of GPR50 remains unclear, although our previous studies implicate the receptor in energy homeostasis. Here, we reveal a role for GPR50 as a signalling partner and modulator of the transcriptional co-activator TIP60. This interaction was identified in a yeast-two-hybrid screen, and confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation and co-localisation of TIP60 and GPR50 in HEK293 cells. Co-expression with TIP60 increased perinuclear localisation of full length GPR50, and resulted in nuclear translocation of the cytoplasmic tail of the receptor, suggesting a functional interaction of the two proteins. We further demonstrate that GPR50 can enhance TIP60-coactiavtion of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signalling. In line with in vitro results, repression of pituitary Pomc expression, and induction of gluconeogenic genes in liver in response to the GR agonist, dexamethasone was attenuated in Gpr50−/− mice. These results identify a novel role for GPR50 in glucocorticoid receptor signalling through interaction with TIP60

Xanthine oxidoreductase promotes the inflammatory state of mononuclear phagocytes through effects on chemokine expression, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma sumoylation, and HIF-₁ alpha

The protective effects of pharmacological inhibitors of xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) have implicated XOR in many inflammatory diseases. Nonetheless, the role played by XOR during inflammation is poorly understood. We previously observed that inhibition of XOR within the inflammatory mononuclear phagocytes (MNP) prevented neutrophil recruitment during adoptive transfer demonstrating the role of XOR in MNP-mediated neutrophil recruitment. To further explore the role of XOR in the inflammatory state of MNP, we studied MNP isolated from inflammatory lungs combined with analyses of MNP cell lines. We demonstrated that XOR activity was increased in inflammatory MNP following insufflation of Th-1 cytokines in vivo and that activity was specifically increased by MNP differentiation. Inhibition of XOR reduced levels of CINC-1 secreted by MNP. Expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) in purified rat lung MNP and MNP cell lines reflected both the presence of PPARγ isoforms and PPARγ SUMOylation, and XOR inhibitors increased levels of SUMO-PPARγ in MNP cell lines. Both ectopic overexpression of XOR cDNA and uric acid supplementation reduced SUMO-PPARγ in MNP cells. Levels of the M2 markers CD36, CD206, and arginase-1 were modulated by uric acid and oxonic acid, whereas siRNA to SUMO-1 or PIAS-1 also reduced arginase-1 in RAW264.7 cells. We also observed that HIF-1α was increased by XOR inhibitors in inflammatory MNP and in MNP cell lines. These data demonstrate that XOR promotes the inflammatory state of MNP through effects on chemokine expression, PPARγ SUMOylation, and HIF-1α and suggest that strategies for inhibiting XOR may be valuable in modulating lung inflammatory disorders